The Scoop on Training Treats

I sometimes get asked about what treats I use, or what treats would be good to bring to a class.  The short answer is - it depends.  There are several factors to consider when choosing a treat including
- what treats does your dog like?
- does your dog have any allergies or food sensitivities?
- how difficult is the task you are asking your dog to do?
- how distracting is the environment you will be in?
- do you need a treat that will show up if tossed?

Treat Value

When talking about treat value, make sure to consider the value from the dog's point of view.  It doesn't matter if you think a particular treat should be the most valuable if your dog prefers a different one.  Usually we can tell by a dogs reaction to different treats in the same situation which they prefer more.  It is a good idea to create a rough ranking of treats so that you can choose the treat that best suits the situation.

Generally we can classify treats into Low, Medium and High value treats.  Low value treats are those that your dog will accept but aren't anything very special.  Usually kibble falls into this category.  High value treats are those treats that your dog gets excited to see, and will do almost anything for.  Treats in this category tend to be meaty and smelly.

Here is an example of treat values for two different dogs illustrating how there can be some general trends but also some variation between individuals.

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